Tractor.



No. 851,055. PATENTED Amma, l1907. B. B Bsgow. l TRACTOR.

APPLIOTION FILED 00T. 3, 1905. RENEWED SEPT. 24, 1906.

s slimme-SHEET W @www I No. 851,055. PATENTED APR. 23, 1907.

B.'BBSKOW.

TRACTOR.

APPLIQATIQN FILED ooms, 19505. RBNBWBD sBPT. 24, 190s.

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' TRACTOR.

' To all wiz/ont t nafycneern.' l

v UNITED. sTATns PATENT on1F.lion.,

f BERNHARD BEsKow, or sAN,FRANcIsCo,eiiiiiiionniiiff` Y TnAcTo.

. Beit known that I, BERNHARD BEsKow, a citizen of the United States, residing at San lFrancisco, in the county or" San Francisco 5 and State of California, have inventedcertain ,new4 and usefull Improvements lin Tractors, of

" '.whichntliefollowinggis afspeciiication.

.., Mylinyention'relates tothat class of motor- ,ars',whichfarejintendedas a substitute for "the ,draft-harse-,7V be it for commercial, military, or agricultural purposes.

` zThe great value of the commercial 'motor car is now understood as' affording the best y means of tapping sections of the country'and I5 'moregor less isolated and connecting them with the railroads; but the success of this industry'dependslargely upon a cheap and elfiv`cientconstruction of the motor-car and of isting` implements of thefarmer and merchants, as plows, harvesters,gwagons, trucks, sc. 'A truck fitted out withmechanical driving appliances to take the place of the-present horse-propelled vehicle answers only to the special purpose for which it is intended and calls for a special design, which consequently involves very heavy expense for the consumer. Y

One object of my invention is to provide a motor-carthatwill be ellicient and can be applied to any implement or vehicle of present construction and use.

Another object to provide the motor-car with wheels having increased tractive power* as, for instance, those having sinuous peripheries similar to what is shown in my Patent No. 694,303, February 2 5, 1902. l

Another object is to-'Nvary the tractive power'of thefmotor by varying the downw arc l pressurev upon the traction-wheels of the same by means of the load contained in the trailer. 1

An embodiment of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, Vin which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of whatl 'shall call a tractorf Fig. 2 is a top plan view. Figa?) is a rear end View with the wheels turned ninety degrees to their position in Figs. l and 2. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2 looking toward the rear, Ywith the wheels turned ninety degrees to their position in'Figs. l and f2. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the main 5 5 frame with similar views of one of thewheel- Specification of Letters Patent. Appnwet'ra jabber 3,1905. Rnewedseptmtar 24.1906.l` seal Nasse;

agricultural centers that at present may be the possibilityof applying said' car to the eX` x raeenteanprilzaa, 1907. i

frames detached, Vfragrnentary sectional view`showir'ig` ans` for limit ing the tilting motion 'of 4the wheels. 7 isa side elevation,- on a reducedscale, showing the tractor provided withatrailer." Figs 8, 6o

, 9, 10,'and 11 are vertical s'ectional; top'` plan,

end' elevation, and diagrammatic' views, respectively, of nieansfforcleaning'the wheels. .In constructinggafmachn n accordance with my invention t o'or I arepivotally mounted arnaurfr is preferably comp ed, o "A "h" tangular front 'port n' tangular portion is preferably in'theform 70 to the center offwliich' the ortvardydofth r rear frame 2 is rigidly scured,and `rigidly secured to the rear end'of'theii'anie 2 and forming a part thereof 'is af diamondvshap'ed frame 4. Pivotally mounted in bearings 5 and 6 of 7'5 the frames 3 and. 4',"respect' l trunnions 7 are th'ef whe l All of these iranes jar fromrw angle iron, fan g frames Sare recta'iiigil vith dep i "g p ports on all four'offft esftheieflf The front and rear supports areeali-lpreferablyformed from inclined barsQ'and-'thefside sup'- ports from platesy :1.0, each plateprovided with a recess and AtwojparallelA vertical bars 1'1. The trunnions ,7 are' secured? to the lower ends of' the"b"arsf9, and"permit the frames 8 tooscillate#- as shown'iirligs 4" and 6, when the Wh'eel'sf'12:are i f even ground. 'If clesireilii A 9o may be givenv to'ith'eial, =1Ire"by ktwo braces 13 and 14 -iipdnieac side, vwhich 4are connected atv theirforwari s to thefsides ofthe framel -andat their rfe'nds tof the pto and bottom, respectively; of ftheframe 3. 95 lhe wheels r'nay be .otany desired construction but I prefer to use the reverselycurved ones shown in .my patenthereinbefore referred to. The axles*15oithewheels are rames at one end and with the main frame 2 he hauled or if encountering a steep grade en at the other. Preferably there are two chains at each end of each of the frames, each chain being connected with its frame in any suitable manner, as by eyebolts 19, and with the frame 2 in a similar manner, one of the chains being connected with the top of the frame 2 and the other one at the bottom.

By this construction the lower chains limit the upward movement of inner sides of the frames S, and .the upper chains limit their downward' movement, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. l

lhe forward end 'of the tractor can be supported by ordinary wheels in the usual manner, as shown in the drawings, or itinay be provided with duplicates of the rear wheels 12, which can be pivotally supported between vertical frames and driven in the same manner as shown for said rea-r wheels.

Mounted upon the forward portion of the frame is any suitablelmotor, as 20,- which is connected with or drives a power-shaft 21, which is journaled transversely across the rear end of frame 1. 'lhe connection between said shaft and the power-shaft 22 of the motor is shown as bevel-gear 23; but

' other means, as the ordinary sprocket-gear,

could be used, if desired. Speed-changmg mechanism 24 may be used, preferably7 that vinvented by myself g but as it forms no )art of the present invention and is covere by a separate application it is not shown more particularly in the drawings.

Flexiblyconnected with eac-h end of the shaft 21, as by means of a universal joint 25,

is a short shaft 26, which is provided with asprocket-wheel 27 and-journaled in bearings 28 at the ends of downwardly and forwardly extending brackets 29. YChains 30 connect the sprocket-wl'ieels 27 with sprocket-wheels 31, each of which-is rigidly secured to one of the axles 15 at the outer side of one of the wheels 12. 'lhc joints 25are each arranged in a line'with the trunnions 7 of the frame 8 upon that side which will permit of the transmission of power to each of the wheels, whether its frame is horizontal or inclined, and the amounto`f inclination is limited by the chains to the angle at which the shafts can be operated most effectively. The brackets 29 are. preferably bifurcated or slotted, as shown at 32, within which the sprocket wheels 27 are mounted, and the bearings 28 are so located relative to the boites 16 that the vertical movement ofithe axles 15 will not tighten the chains 3() so as to break them nor loosen them to such an extent as to render them inoperative.v I

When en-lploying a motor-car for, the purpose (.f hauling leads, it has generally been censidered advisable to place such a great weight over the driving-wheels to prov ide for the necessarv adhesien between the ground and the wheels ln case a very heavy load is to route. In addition to this the tread of the wheels have been provided with rubber tires,-

ribs, or flanges, which engaged with thev l power of the wheelsgbut all of these expediground and increased the friction'or traotive `ents are objectionable, for rubber tires are soon cut to pieces, and considerable power is required to transmit the dead-weight ofthe machine, and ordinary bridges'are not built to. supportsuch loads, and when the ribs do not fill up and lose their efficiency they cut up the road-bed to such an extent as to prof hibit the use of such wheels on county roads, highways, er within the city. Iavoid these objections by a very simple connection -between the rear end of my tractora'nd atrailer T or car on which isplaced theload to beV hauled and by means of which connection a portion of the Weight of the load is transferred to or made effective for increasing the downward pressure of the tractor upon its traction-wheels.- In the form of such device shown in thel drawings a' screw-threaded at the top and bottom, respectively, of the.

A nut 36 is mounted on the shaft frame 4. so as to be moved up or down when the shaft is rotated. The forward end of the nut is provided with a band or loop 37, which engages with or lits around the rear end of the frame 2, and thereby causes the Weight of the load which is connected with the coupling-pin 38 by the draw-bar 39 to be mostly sustained or carried .directly by the main frame of thecar.v With the parts arranged in this manner it is evident that if the shaft be rotated so as to move the nut upward abovethc horizontal or line of direct pull the forward end of the draw-bar will be inclined upward, and the weight of the load on the trailer will pull down upon the rear of the tractor, and there.- by add that much to the tractivo power of the drive-wheels; but if thc nut be moved downward the result will bev just the opposite. Hence the downward movement of the nut id only used in backing the tractor and its load, in which the push upon the downwardly-inclined draw-bar will cause thc weight of the forwardend of the trailer to be transmitted to the rear end of the tractor and force it down upon the traction-wheels. ln this manner the effectiveness of my tractor for hauling purposes can be readily increased at any time by simply rotating the screw-shaft,

which can be done by means of a crank-shaft 40, one end of which isconnected with the shaft by means of a universal joint 41, and the other end is adjacent' to the side of the seat 42. The seat is preferably mounted on a platform 43, which is supported above the driving-wheels by means of posts 44. An ordinary steering-shaft# Fris also arranged adja-f' cent to the seat, as is the speed-changinglever TCO 46;'1tlier'ebyfenabling the attendant to havey 'of the segnients'approaehing each other the periphery of the wheel will virtually form a duplex laterally,sinuous tread in which the lateral's'iniiosities ofthe respective parts coincidelreversely-l "Withlsuch a wheel the ad A ditioiial weiglitthat is placed upon it byoper-A ating :the weighteshifting mechanism will increase its utility in a threefold manner. In the first place its tractive power will be increased` at the point of contact of the wheel 'with ground in exactly the same manner and-in the sameproportion as though the treadofthewhel uponeach side of the point of Ifeor'it'actwere"straight instead of sinuous. I-n the second place the increased Weight will have a ltendency to sink the Wheel into the "thereby prevent slippage.

ground',which will lincrease its tractive power by providing a greater embankment or wall of earth, to the rear of and against which the side walls of the sinuosities will engage, and In addition to these advantages in increasing the tractive power of the Wheel the walls of the sinuosities would presentan increased bearing-surface to the'Lgf-round' directlyfunderneath them,

which toal certain extent would counteract theltendency that the increased Weight would have tosink the wheel into the ground, and especially if the soil should be softer yielding. In this manner the eflcieney of my tractor would be increased by the use of my patented Vwheels upon the ordinary road-bed, whether it be harder soft, and itiwould be. rendered peculiarly useful for work upon the farm,

" where the ground isfrequently soft and yielding.v In'sucli cases the` draft of the load i would be increased by `the softer ground; but atthefsainetiine theI resistance to sinking would be rapidly .increased by the flaring walls 'oflthe' sinking wheels, and the tractive power of the wheels would also be increased by the increasingr height of the wall or abutinentofground formed at the operating sides` of the serpentine. walls of the rotating wheels.

To a certain extent the edges o f the serpentinejtreadnothe .wheels perform "the same functions as the ribs or flanges on the ordinary wheel, for they present an inclined edge to bear against the `ground to they rear, and therebyprevent slippage; but the tread of the Wheel is so broad vthat it does not sink in and cut up the road like the flanges do, and in addition to this it is impossible to cause the treads of the wheels to track V-each other upon the road, and it is ,therefore impossible to cut the road into ruts and ruinitl, as with wheels having` the ordinary straiglitftread; but, 'on the contrary, the constant. lateral movement of the point of contactof the tread with theground as the wheel moves forward causes the wheels to cont-act withfsubstantially all of the lground underneath the axles, and thereby'have a tendency toroll tlie'road and keep it`even withouttlie use'of a cylinder.` i Y If either wheel of the tractor sliouldstrike a rigid obstruction, as the side of a projecting stone that is too high forA it to readily pass over, the wheel would slip until the lateralv movement of the point of contact of its sinuous tread would either vpermit the wheel to 4pass to the side of the stone lor to reach suoli apoint that the wheel-could pass over it but in case an obstruct-ionsliould be caught up between the two disks'of a wheel, as is liable to happen when the tractor-lis usedupon soft. soil in which rocks are embedded, it is desirable that means be. provided for removing such obstructions to prevent the interior of the wheel from being gradually -filled u-p with accumulated rocks and clay, and thereby form a smooth even surface or periphery The .form of clearer Iprefer rto use and which is` shown in Figs'S, 9, 10, and 11 consists of a flat spring 47 in the form ol a si-\., ,mentv oli a spiral, which spring 1s of suoh'a width as to pass between the narrowest part of the disks when the wheel is rotated. The upper portion of the spring is rigidly secured to an upwardly-curved bar 48, which is secured at its ends to the opposite sides ofthe frame S, and the lower portion of the spring preferably terminates below the hub of the wheel in two ends 49. These ends are preferably connected by a substantially circular band 50, of spring-steel, which encireles; the hub lhis construction forms a curved surface which extends from the center of 'the'wheel outwardly and upwardly beyond the periphery and which surface is adapted to engage with the obstruction, as alstone 5l in Fig. 1i, and gradually force it outward in a radial direction, as shown in'dotted lines in said figure, until it passes beyond the periphery and is dropped to the ground. Auxiliary elearers are also preferably provided, which are made in the form of. flexible arms or springs 52,

lwhich are secu'redat their inner ends'to the bands 5() andprojectupwardly andA outwardly substantially 'to the 'peripheries ofthe disks. The springs areeurved and preferably sharpened on their'forward edges, which 'engage with the sides fof the'disks and scrapel olf all mud and foreign substances as the wheelrotates, and they'extend out from opposite sides of the axle, so that one set will operate when the wheel is rotating in one direction and the other set when it is rotating in the IOC other direction. The clearer 47 acts as a shield for the springs and prevents the larger stones from' comin in contact with their sharp edges and dul ing them.

When it isdesired to use the tractor as a stationary engine, the driving-shaft is disconnected from the traction-Wheels, as by re moving the chains 29 and applying a belt (not shown) to a pulley 53 at one end of the shaft, which will permit of the power from the engine being transmitted to -any desired point as to different kinds of agricultural machinery, &c.

Having described my inventioii, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a tractor, a m'ain frame having vertically-arranged portions, wheel-frames journaled in the vertical portions on opposite sides ofthe center ofthe main frame, and wheels journaled in said wheel-frames. V

2. In a tractor, a main frame comprising a horizontal front portionA and vertical rear portions, wheel-frames journaled within the vertical rear portions and upon opposite sides of the center of the frame, and wheels mounted in said wheel-frames.

3. In a tractor, a main frame comprising a horizontal front portion and vertical rear portions, one of said vertical portions being diamond-shaped and arranged parallel with a rectangular portion at the Hrear end ofthe front portion, two wheel-frames pivotally mounted in said diamond 'and rectangular portions respectively upon opposite sides o f the central rear portion, and a wheel journaled in each wheel-frame.

4. In a tractor, a 'main frame having vertically-arranged portions, Wheel-frames journaled therein upon opposite sides of the cenf ter of the main frame, each side of each wheel-frame being provided with a depending support, the support at the front and' rear being provided with trunnions andthe sidev supports forming guideways, a box in each way, andy a wheel in each wheel-frame with its axles j ournaled in said boxes.

5. In a tractor, a mainframe, flexible driving mechanism thereon, wheel-frames pivotally mounted in the main frame upon op posite sides of the center thereof, a wheel in each wheel-frame, and means for connecting said wheels with the driving mechanism.

, 6.v In a tractor, a main frame, a jointed driving-shaft thereon, wheel-frames pivotallymounted in the main frame with their pivots in line with the joints of said shaft, a bifurcated rojection on each .wheellframe provided with bearings for the outer ends of one of said shafts, a sprocket-wheel in each bifurcation, a Wheel in each wheel-frame, the axle of which is provided with a sprocketwheel, sprocket-chains for connecting the sprocket-wheels on the axles with the sprocket-wheels on the driving-shaft, and means for limiting the tilting movement of the wheel-frames. I.

7. In 4a tractor, a main frame lprovided with a vertical rear' portion, wheel-frames pivotally mounted in the main frame upon opposite sides of said'vertical portion, chains from the top of each wheel-frame to the top and bottom respectively of said vertical portion for limiting the lmovements of the wheelframes,and a wheel in each Wheel-frame.'

8. In a tractor, a main frame comprising a horizontal front portion and vertical rear portions, one of said vertical portions forming the rear end of the front portion, and inclined braces from the top and bottom of the sides of the horizontal portion to the top and bottom respectively of said vertical portionat the rear end of the front portion.

9. In a tractor, a frame provided with rear traction-wheels, each wheel comprising a lurality of curved-disks and having a duplex aterallysinuous tread 'in which the oppositely-located sinuosities coincide reversely,

means forV connecting a trailer with said l frame, and means for shifting a portion of the weight of the trailer to said rear wheels.

10. In a tractor, a frame provided with` traction-wheels, each wheel comprising a plurality "of curved disks .and having a duplex laterally-sinuous tread in which the oppositelylocated sinuosities coincide reversely, and a clearer arranged 'betweenthe sinuous portions of said disks.

-11. In a tractor, a frame provided with traction-wheels, each wheel i comprising an axle and two oppositely-curved disks thereon, a curved spring extending from the axle to the peripheries of said 'disks at the top, and Scrapers for engaging with said disks.

12. In a tractor, a main frame, two wheelframes ivotally mounted in the main frame, a wheel)in each wheel-frame com 'rising an axleand two curved disks `rigid y securedA thereon with their similarly-curved portions opposite each other, a bar over said wheel with its ends secured to the wheel-frame, aV

curved spring secured to said bar and 'terminating in ends below the axle, a hand secured to said ends and encirclinglthe axle, and two pairs of spring-Scrapers secured vto the band uponopposite sides of the axle and extending to the peripheries of said disks.

In testimony whereof I affixed my signature in presence of two witnessesthis 14th day of September, 1905.

. BERNHARD BESKOW.

M. R. SEELY, F. M.- BARTEL.

IOO

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